


What do you call the garden police? Lawn Order

by AmidalaDrake



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Librarian!Jason, M/M, Police!Tim, obviously no red robin, still red hood though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 20:47:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13959708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmidalaDrake/pseuds/AmidalaDrake
Summary: Detective Tim Drake has a new boyfriend who always seems to come home with mysterious bruises, but surely life a librarian isn't as hazardous as Jason makes it out to be?!!RATING CHANGE from Chapter 7!!





	1. Soft Detective, Sleepy Detective

**Author's Note:**

> I will try a new chapter every week, new way of doing this, with no direct plan before writing. UPDATE - scratch that plan, it’s going to be one a day until I run out of steam haha. NEW UPDATE - beware rating change, and I have a rough idea of the outline now, hence finally choosing a chapter limit!

Tim’s eyes drooped again as his vision blurred. 38 hours non-stop is a lot to ask any normal person. And ex-billionaire now Detective Timothy Jackson Drake was facing another couple more hours before the sweet release of his shift being over could even be considered. The cases that had recently been closed needed writing up and he also had three continuing cases that required a lot more legwork.

Detective Tim Drake, Gang-related crime division, had decided down this pathway when his father had died and he was left with his health bills and a failing company. So he decided to sell and go to college. Stalking – watching _please_ , as Tim would insist – Batman and Robin through the years had made him interested in a life of investigation. He watched as Robin evolved into Nightwing and a new, more interesting in a way Tim could never explain, Robin, entered the scene. Tim would never label himself as ‘in the know’ as to the ins and outs of the Batman family drama, but rather suddenly, Robin morphed into the adult vigilante Red Hood, and a smaller angrier Robin came on to the scene. There was also a change in Batgirls, but, by this point, Tim had graduated high school early and was too invested in choosing his college major and graduating that before the age of 19.

And so the life of a police detective called him.

Leading him up to this point of complete exhaustion.

The Falcone family had something to do with the new shipment of narcotics, and although drugs were definitely within Tim’s jurisdiction, he wanted to get to the bottom of the gang’s plans. Which meant severe over-time. Thank God for coffee and donuts.

His head nearly hit the desk a third time before he was shaken by a strong hand on his shoulder.

“Hey Tim, you alright?”

Tim looked up and blearily smiled at his saviour.

Jason Todd was standing in front of him with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. His green eyes were moving quickly over Tim's form assessing the sleep-deprived state of _utter beauty_ that was Tim. Jason's worried expression quickly mirrored Tim's smile, if a little forced, and handed over the cup. Tim almost spilled it with how quickly he grabbed it and gulped it down. Tim closed his eyes rejoiced in the sweet nectar of the gods.

Sighing heavily, Tim finally responded to Jason’s question.

“Yeah Jason, I’m fine. Just running on fumes at the moment”

Jason reached for a nearby empty chair and sat down next to Tim, swiveling his chair so they could talk face to face.

Tim just slumped on to Jason’s chest, mushing his face against the taller man’s chest.

Jason laughed and pushed him back slightly.

“Detective, surely it’s time for a break or something?”

Tim nodded and closed his eyes, rubbing at his temples. Jason collected Tim’s things and grabbed his coat as Tim stood up. Jason waved to Tim’s partner Detective Montoya as they headed out, explaining the situation, to which Renee wholeheartedly agreed. Tim was a great partner but he really didn’t look after himself at all, and it was nice to see this guy caring for the young detective.

Tim and Jason had unofficially met three months ago. Tim was on stakeout and Jason had just interrupted the drug bust, seeing two police officers way over their heads going up against seven gang members. Red Hood stepped in to help and despite taking down six guys, the seventh had snuck up on him which resulted in Tim clobbering the guy with the butt of his gun, and Jason falling slightly in love with the small spitfire that is Detective Drake.

Tim and Jason had officially met a few hours later outside of a café – Tim was ordering coffee number three of the ‘day’ and Jason was picking up food as he was coming off patrol. He had just changed back into his civvies and saw Tim. He made fun of Tim's coffee order and flirted outrageously. Jason then pushed a little further and asked Tim out for the following evening, where he had planned a picnic in the nice park by the bay. The rest was history.

Jason had told Tim that he was a librarian. Which wasn’t a lie, per say? But he hadn’t told him about the night job. How could he? Red Hood was a known vigilante, and not a non-killing one like Batman and the demon. Would it be a good idea if Jason suddenly said, "Hey, y'know that ex-murdering guy that your bosses have been desperate to get their hands on? Yeah, you've been mixing saliva with him for three months"?

Yeah... right.

It was starting to affect their dating life, missed dinners and quick post-date escapes. Not so much that Tim had commented, but Jason could feel a sense of curiosty from the man. They hadn’t slept together yet, but Jason was sure that the blatant lies he told Tim would surely be revealed if and when they did, and _God_ Jason wanted to.

That was just another hurdle he would have to face in the future.

For now, the current issue was getting Tim to finish the massive plate of burger and fries without smashing his face in it. Praise the Bronte sisters for 24-hour diners.


	2. What a pickle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Drake causes a conundrum

What a pickle, Tim needed to sleep, right now, but was in no state to go anywhere on his own steam. Luckily, it was post-patrol time, and the sun was even beginning to show signs of rising. Jason had paused for a second thinking of the recent escapade he had had with Bane and the resulting – rather colourful - bruise covering the right side of his ribs. But then Tim nearly collapsed when Jason mentioned taking him back home, so Jason quickly suggested that Tim could sleep in Jason’s apartment – it was closer by at least ten minutes, and Jason hadn’t thought to bring the motorcycle to the station.

Surely, one night with Tim on the sofa wouldn’t result in Jason’s biggest secret ever being revealed?

Instead of laying on the sofa, however, Tim made a beeline for the bedroom. Throughout the past three months, many make out sessions had occurred within the small but lovingly decorated master bedroom of Jason’s flat, so Tim knew the way to the room even with his eyes seemingly glued shut.

Inside the bedroom, Tim collapsed on to the Queen bed (Jason would love to get a King, but the thought of squeezing that monstrosity into the already slightly cramped room, and no he was not going to accept more money from Bruce, always resulted in a tension headache) and flicked his hand towards Jason in a motion that seemed to convey the request for the removal of his boots. Heavy duty and necessary for when Tim played beat cop.

Jason huffed a quiet laugh and gently removed the over worn boots and placed them on the side of the bed. He then moved upwards and turned Tim so that he was now lying on his back so that Jason could unbutton the work shirt and trousers, leaving Tim in just the plain undershirt and – what else – donut patterned boxer briefs. Tim hummed a noise of thanks and turned so that he was on his side facing the window with his back to the door.

The vigilante groaned quietly as he stood up - damn Bane and his dastardly right hook – and progressed towards the door and quietly switched off the lights to let his boyfriend finally get some shut-eye.

He thought about the impact on his life that the detective had already made in only three months. Jason had started not just thinking about the villains and the people of Crime Alley and the Bowery. He was starting to think about the whole city, people who were not necessarily ‘middle class’ but people who had managed to make a stable living in somewhat nicer areas, these people were still needing to be protected just as much as the poorer areas. And yes, Crime Alley will always be his priority, and children will always come first, but Jason could feel his awareness of the ‘bigger picture’ expanding. He would never agree with the no-killing rule, some evil people will always be evil and are better off not on this mortal plane. But, he could see the good in normal everyday people. Tim was a normal everyday person who was just working to make the world slightly less chaotic.

Closing his eyes, Jason dreamt of black hair and blue eyes that was marred with flashes of vibrant green and red and a hysterical high pitch laugh.

~

Jason awoke to a smell of bacon and coffee; a smell he was not automatically used to, but he could label the person behind it immediately. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before running his fingers through his much-knotted hair. Jason stumbled towards the kitchen (which was still in the same area as his living room, but decorated slightly differently to give an aura of division) and saw a much more put together Tim plating up two dishes of bacon and pancakes. Tim was dressed in his boxer briefs from yesterday but had put on a loose fitting top – must be one of Jason’s – and was wearing a pair of fluffy slippers.

“Morning Sleeping Beauty” Tim laughed when he saw Jason try to grab the plate of food and a cup of coffee and failing spectacularly. He placed his own dish on the counter and motioned for Jason to sit beside him. Jason lent his head on Tim’s shoulders and just stared at Tim’s hands as he fed himself.

“So, I’m off to the station in five. You got work today?”

Jason hummed at looked at the clock hung next to his fridge. 9:12 a.m. They had gotten just less than four and a half hours sleep. What a record.

He did have a five-hour shift at the library, but he also needed to do an early patrol as Damian had parent’s evening with Bruce and who knows what the demon will do when he received criticism?

“Yeah, but it’ll be a late night. I’ll see you tomorrow for dinner?”

He felt ever so slightly guilty for the lie of omission, but one rule that he would do his best to follow was to not tell anyone about his secret life (Even though it seemed Bruce used it as an opener on a first date, the number of times that a ‘lady friend’ has found out)

Tim nodded and cleaned his dishes in the sink, resting them on the drainer.

In the time it took for Jason to finish his delicious breakfast, Tim had showered and dressed back into his uniform. He said he had a spare back at his desk that he would change in to, as the thought of wearing underwear, let alone clothes, that had been worn for well over three days was not a thought that Tim wanted to entertain.

On the way out, Tim kissed Jason on the cheek and murmured, “Get some more sleep, Jay. Thanks for saving me last night.”

As the door was shut, Jason was already moving towards his bedroom so that his day as “Assistant Librarian, Specialist in Edwardian and Victorian novels” began.


	3. It's off to work we go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Drake is allocated a new partner

Tim had managed to get to the station just before 10 and had snagged a fresh cup of coffee – thank you Renee – and quickly set up his computer. He was semi-well rested for the first time in about nine days and already this was proving to have been a good decision, even if it was forced upon him. The increase of knife crimes in the Bowery hinted at the emergence of a new gang and Tim needed all of his concentration to be able to make some headway in the case. As it was ‘just’ violent crimes with no deaths _yet_ , there was little interference from homicides. A few interactions had to be dealt from CID but it was nothing that Tim couldn’t handle.

His past skills of ‘watching’ were proving to be useful over the past couple of weeks, but today required his rather untouched hacking skills. Years of summer internships at Drake Industries meant that he had acquired certain assets that allowed him to infiltrate most firewalls with no difficulty. It helped to test your own network by hacking into it. He already had access to all surveillance of the streets and monitored areas of the Bowery, but this newest batch of knife crimes was being held in areas that had no legal camera access. But the mob bosses that surrounded the areas certainly had decent enough CCTV to gain a different viewpoint. It sometimes helped to have crimes occur near Arkham, even if it was dodgier.

When Tim was interviewing the previous victims, there appeared to be no link between them; ages, weight, gender, orientation, and race, were all varied. There was no correlation between the attackers and victims other than a matter of wrong time wrong place. This stumped Tim. Most criminals had little connections that linked them to their victims, even if they never knew it. Past abuses or obsessions would often be mirrored in their actions. Hair colour was often an association in seemingly random murder cases or even odd things like restaurant preferences. Any tiny relation could allow the police to make headway in getting the criminal.

But there was nothing.

Which just meant more legwork.

Great.

Tim ran another code through the database, and as that would take at least an hour, he had time to get down to the Bowery and do some more investigation with his partner.

Renee wasn’t his partner on this case, the Commissioner told him. She was tied up in the Black Mask case that supposedly linked to a string of high profile murders.

His new partner was coming from Bludhaven, on special request.

Tim was intrigued for about five seconds before becoming irritated that his partner hadn’t turned up yet – he wanted to hit the streets ASAP.

That was when _he_ walked in.

 

Sunshine personified.

Detective Richard “Oh no, please call me Dick” Grayson.

 

They had met each other a couple times briefly a few years ago, back when Tim was Timothy Jackson Drake and was at yet another fundraiser at Wayne Enterprises.

Dick was there, as was the small Damian Wayne, both representing Bruce Wayne as he was indisposed with a golf injury of some kind.

Tim had gotten on well enough with Dick; his charming personality would break through any person’s hard exterior. It was Damian – or “the demon” as Jason would put it aptly – that he was more wary of. Aggressive with an air of utter arrogance did not fit well to Tim’s... well, anything. And so, the pair silently agreed to not talk or socialise much after a failed and awkwardly aggressive introductory greeting.

This was the first time that he was in a room with any Wayne since he had gotten with Jason.

Yes, he knew Jason Todd was legally Jason Todd Wayne, but since an argument between the family, Tim understood that there was no love lost between Jason and his family.

Therefore, he had never yet been introduced to the family as the ‘boyfriend’.

And now he was face to face with his boyfriend’s older brother, who also only knew him as an ex-billionaires son.

“Good morning Detective Drake, it’s my pleasure to be your partner in this case.”

Dick held out his hand to a stunned Tim, who quickly broke out for his reverie and hastily grabbed the proffered hand.

“The pleasure’s mine, Detective Grayson. I hope your expertise will help crack this case before any more people are attacked” Tim responded with a tight smile and gestured towards his desk.

The two officers sat down and discussed the case so that Dick was up to date with all information. He was impressed with the new camera angles Tim had procured, “The systems were open and were basically begging to be investigated, Detective Grayson. No harm, no foul.”

Once the foundations of the case were laid down, the pair set off to the Bowery – only half an hour later than planned, not that Tim was complaining. Dick offered to drive, which Tim gratefully accepted; the four hours’ sleep had done nothing to pay off his amassing sleep debt, and he was only tempting fate if he was behind a wheel.

~

En route to the commercial district, Dick struck up a conversation. Or tried to, anyway.

“So, Tim…”

“Tim?”

“Well, we are partners now. You can call me Dick if you want”

“Do you want?”

“Yeah! Of course, it means we’re friends”

“Okay, Dick… What do you want to know?”

Dick, for a second, took his eyes off the road. He regarded Tim with a quick curious glance, hoping that Tim didn’t see just how _interested_ he was in his new partner.

“So, it’s been a while. I take it that selling DI was a good decision. What you up to now? Besides the obvious”

Tim froze slightly and made a concentrated effort to relax his tense muscles.

He didn’t think it was his place to mention Jason in any way, so instead, he said, “Well, besides literally living at the station, I don’t really get out”

Dick frowned and tilted his head to the right.

“You don’t have a girlfriend… or boyfriend?”

Tim shuffled in his seat before answering slowly, “Well… yeah, I do. We just don’t get to hang out much with me working all hours of the day and their random work schedule.”

He decided to play the pronoun game if only to give Jason a little more privacy.

Dick realised he wasn’t going to be told the truth this time and left it at that. He decided to discuss Damian’s most recent school disaster, much to the silent appreciation of his partner.

He could always find out more about his brother’s boyfriend next time.

~

The Bowery and, later, Park Row, only resulted in dead ends and fabricated truths. No one had seen anything apparently, and if they had, were not willing to talk to uniforms.

This was something more than just organised knife crimes.

But Tim could not put his finger on it.

Exhausted, the two detectives headed back to the station, take out in hand (Panini and fries for Dick, Tuna salad for Tim – hey, last night aside, he did always _try_ to put healthy things in him). They slumped on their respective chairs and ate in almost companionable silence whilst observing the final steps of Tim programme.

The ding of the algorithm finishing cut through the silence just as Tim was shoveling the last bit of lettuce into his mouth.

“Mmmm, ge’ anyfin’?” Dick asked around a mouthful of prosciutto ham and bread.

Tim stared at the computer screen as results were scanned through.

There was a connection.

All the victims were carrying plastic bags from “Joe’s Fruit and Veg”, this wasn’t picked up in the interview process, as not all victims came in with all their stuff –some reports occurred hours or days after the attack.

The new camera angles picked this up, yet another win for Tim’s hacking skills.

Joe’s Fruit and Veg, on the corner of the Bowery and Sheldon Park.

Strange location for a health shop to be in; next to Arkham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hit with inspiration - so I'm going to get as many chapters out whilst I can


	4. Hey, you up?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason's patrol means he encounters one of the people he just didn't want to see

The shift at the library was as testing as it was busy; as in, not at all. But, Jason loved the rare moments when a child found a book that lit up their imagination, or a teenager found exactly the research that they needed for their homework, or even an adult finding the spare minute in the day to relax and indulge.

That made the mundanity worth it, plus it gave him a legitimate income, one that didn’t come from his past days of extorting from drug dealers and ‘handling’ pimps and crime bosses, or from Mr. Emotionally-Stunted himself.

It was a cover to his late nights and random absences – hey, a traveling bookshop can just pop up, and yes, Tim, he needed to go that evening as it was out of state.

Tomorrow was a rare day (and night) off, in which he will happily indulge in a proper and completed date with Tim.

In order for that to be as stress-free as possible, Jason needed to lay the groundwork tonight, to minimise the chance that he gets dragged out on back up.

As soon as the sun was beginning to set, and Bruce and Damian were well on their way to the parent’s evening (a favour is a favour), Jason suited up and made his way out on to patrol.

November was never a high crime rate month, the winter ensuring that most of the petty thieves and criminals were more invested in not losing a toe than gaining a couple bucks.

But that didn’t stop Round Two of his fight with Bane, who was proving difficult in apprehending. Not quite enough to call for back up, just yet, but enough that Jason could feel some strain in his muscles. Each punch took the entirety of his willpower and control, he needed concentrated high-impact punches that avoided Bane’s reach. Quick and nimble. Quick and nimble.

To be fair, quick and nimble were not words one often associated with Red Hood; strong and efficient, sure. Brutal and intelligent, if you were being nice. Quick and nimble, hah, never.

Ah well, it was what Jason had to be, so he adapted. He kept his aim at the tubes that connected to the tank that was the source of the majority of Bane’s power.

The helmet cushioned most of the impact of the unexpected hit, but it didn’t stop the shock reverberating throughout the metal, leaving Jason a little taken aback.

 

“Need some help, Little Wing?”

 

Jason rolled his eyes before responding.

“Nah, Big Bird, Bane and I are having a wonderful second date. You’ll just be third wheeling.”

Dick landed softly from his perch on to the pavement and regarded Jason in an amused look before turning on to the giant of an opponent.

“Speaking of second dates, Hood guess wh-“

“Manoeuvre twenty-three, Nightwing. Now”

Jason thrust Dick over his head and, ever the Flying Grayson, the acrobat flipped over Bane and twisted in such a way that distracted Bane.

Big mistake.

Bane’s back was exposed to Jason, who grabbed the heavy tubes before heaving them out of the connecting point, purple liquid rushing out and soaking Jason’s _favourite_ leather boots with metal toecaps.

Damn.

Bane was now safely incapacitated, and with two precise punches to the neck and gut, he was out of the count.

Dick stood up and brushed the non-existent dirt off the front of his suit. He grinned and quickly zip-tied the villain, sending a code to Gordon of the whereabouts of one of the most recent Bellreve escapees.

He heard Jason groaning in the shadows and knew that the man needed someone to look over the no doubt painful injuries. But ever since that fight with Bruce, Jason was hesitant, if not downright resistant, to accept any aid from any of them – Barbara included.

“Hey Hood, you alright? Dr. Leslie is still open if you need help.” Dick asked with trepidation, glancing at his brother.

Jason raised one eyebrow behind his helmet – Dick can just tell, ok? – and huffed a dry laugh answering with sarcasm, “Just what I need, more of the Batfam all up in my business.”

It was Dick’s turn to roll his eyes at the utter stubbornness that was his brother; sometimes he was so like Bruce it was freaky.

“Okay, okay, no help. Got it. Anyway, what I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted.”

Jason shrugged, allowing Dick to continue.

“Speaking of second dates… Guess who I met today? Small, dark and handsome…?”

Jason tensed and tried to maintain his poker face (and stance) before responding, “Don’t know what you’re talking about Dick. I haven’t had a second date in months. I don’t exactly meet nice people.” He looked up at the dark night sky, “Anyway, I am needed over in Crime Alley. So, I’ll see you around… probably. Thanks for the assist.” He shot a grappling hook and disappeared before Dick could even say ‘Goodnight’.

So much for getting info from his brother. But no one ever called Dick a quitter, and they weren’t about to start tonight.

~

The rest of Jason’s night was mostly uneventful; a couple of attempted muggings and one ATM robbery that was swiftly stopped. Other than that, it was one dry as hell night.

He didn’t technically lie to Dick, it was true that he hadn’t had a second date in months. Just, it was three months ago rather than the ten plus that Dick was sure to be thinking of. Plus Roy never counted anyway.

Tim was a precious thing in his life, and not something to be corrupted by the awkwardness that was a Wayne family dinner. If he realised how different the real-life ‘Playboys of Gotham’ were compared to their media portrayal, Jason wasn’t 100% sure that Tim would stay around.

Sure Tim came from money, but he had given that life up and was now living independently. He knew that Jason wasn’t close to his family and that Jason was in no rush to merge the two worlds, and Tim never seemed bothered by it and had certainly not brought it up after the one conversation.

All this thinking of Tim made Jason miss the man. He checked the time, 2:49 a.m. no doubt the detective had taken little to no breaks throughout the day.

He texted Tim a quick, _Hey finish up, I miss you._ Insistent, but not forceful. Playing coy had never gotten Jay anywhere with Tim, and unless he told the man outright, Tim assumed everything was either ok or that there was no need to keep in touch.

_Sure, give me five and I’ll come to you - I’ll knock. Can’t sleep?_

_Nah, just want our date to start early_

_Great, be there in ten_

Jason raced home and quickly showered when Tim said ten, he really meant half an hour. The bruise on his ribs was changing colour from Lazarus green to gross mouldy yellow… nice. There was a slight cut on the side of his head, but it was barely noticeable when covered by his hair. His helmet really was a life saver, it seemed.

He dressed in sweatpants and carefully placed his suit away in its hiding places (He always kept them separated, as despite it taking a little bit longer to dress, finding one piece of armour is more explainable than a whole suit) and had just turned the final key when he heard a quiet rap at his front door.

Tim smiled sleepily at Jason and gave the man a quick hug. He entered the flat with no hesitation and started removing his tie. Tim had brought a backpack with him, which was odd.

“Oh, um… I brought spare clothes as it’s our day off? Not a good enough outfit for the actual date, but you know, sleep clothes and a jumper and stuff”

It was a genius idea, and Jason promptly told this to Tim, who blushed mutedly.

Jason made a quick meal of pesto pasta as Tim showered and changed into his relaxed outfit. The pair sat on Jason’s sofa and ate the meal happily, Tim’s feet resting on Jason’s lap. They discussed their day, starting with Jason's.

When Tim brought the subject of his new partner, Jason froze.

“Really Jay, it was so weird. Like, I hadn’t seen Dick in at least three years. We got on well enough, I suppose. But I didn’t mention you. I don’t think it’s my place really” Tim was explaining and looked at Jason with a wary expression.

Jason shook his head - _so that was what Dick was trying to say earlier, guess their ‘secret’ relationship wasn’t so secret after all_ – and said quietly, “Tim, don’t worry, I think he already knows. It was just a matter of time before the Wayne’s got involved.”

“I don’t want to meet them if you don’t want me to. I mean, you’ve met Tam and my step-mum, and that’s pretty much it for my family. It doesn’t matter to me at all if we never interact with your family ever.”

Jason smiled gently at this expression and started rubbing circles on Tim’s ankle.

“It’s not that. I’m not _ashamed_ ”, Jason said the word in a disgusted tone before continuing, “-They are just too much, and there’s been such a lot of bad blood between us. But that’s mainly me and Bruce, not Dick. I don’t mind him knowing, not that it matters either way.”

Tim shuffled closer to Jason so that their shoulders were touching, Tim was almost sat in Jason’s lap and the angle they were sitting in.

“It’s up to you, I’m cool whatever you decide… Moving on, you gonna give me a hint about what we’re doing tomorrow?”

They had decided to split the day in two, with each man planning one half secretly.

Jason laughed and maneuvered so that he was facing Tim, the detective’s legs encapsulating Jason’s waist with Jason sat on his side.

“Not a chance Timbo.”

“Not even if I bartered with kisses?”

“Nope. Now, let’s get you to bed.”

Tim paused as he was getting off the sofa and turned towards his boyfriend, “Join me, Jay.”

Jason looked at Tim, seeing only the certainty in his eyes, and he nodded.

They walked to the bedroom together, hand in hand.

It was the best decision Jason had made all day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4 in a row yay! but that'll be it until Monday as I'm busy this weekend


	5. [S]he's got a booty like a Cadillac...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Jason and Timothy's day of fun!"

They both awoke to Tim’s alarm clock at 7 a.m. and quickly turned it off.

Today was not a day for abiding by any time constrictions.

They had decided to match up their ‘day off’ after the last failed date attempt when Tim was suddenly called in after a Maroni bust-up.

A whole 24 hours to be just Jason and Tim.

What utter bliss.

At least two hours later, Jason groaned and clutched Tim closer to his chest. They had not slept the entire night wrapped up in each other, and in fact, had made a concerted effort in maintaining a respectable distance as they went off to sleep. But, like magnets, they had moved towards each other throughout the night and ended up Tim on his side and Jason lying on his stomach, one arm draped over Tim’s waist.

It was comfortable, and even though this arrangement didn’t happen often, the two men happily reoriented themselves so as to be closer to the other.

Jason opened one eye and turned his neck so that he could _not creepily_ watch his sleeping boyfriend. Tim was one of the rare people who looked just as good sleeping as when awake. His mouth was slightly open and he was breathing deeply, emitting quiet snoring noises (Yet more ammunition in the game of making harmless fun of Tim) and scrunching his noise every so often. His dark eyelashes, hiding bright blue eyes, brushed his cheeks moving slightly whilst the detective dreamed about something. Tim’s hair was dark with a hint of curl at the tips and at the moment, was sporting the ‘I move around a lot in bed (and not in a provocative way)’.

He was a god in human form, according to his adoring boyfriend.

Who was currently trying to extricate himself without disturbing said boyfriend, in a desperate need for juice and something to fill his grumbling stomach. Breakfast in bed seemed like a fitting treat to start a lovely day.

Eggs suitably scrambled and toast just about browned, Jason hummed happily whilst grabbing two mugs for the coffee; black and unsweetened for Tim and with a dash of milk for himself. The kitchen radio faintly played the latest top 40s in the background, providing white noise as Jason worked.

Tim very much appreciated the gesture from his boyfriend; the perfect way to get ‘date-day’ off to a good beginning. The pair ate in content silence, watching the day’s news from the small television on top of Jason’s chest of drawers.

As soon as Tim had finished eating, he turned animatedly towards Jason and clapped his hands asking, “So, what’s the plan? Do I need to get anything special for today, like flip flops or something?” It was so nice to see Tim this excited about the prospect of spending the day with Jason, who was slightly worried that Tim might get bored of him after a couple of hours, after all, they were not the most sociable-hours friendly couple and at least 30% of the time spent together involved one or both of them being too tired to function.

Jason shook his head and replied, “Nah, just comfortable shoes and probably a jumper knowing Gotham in autumn. Everything else, I’ve got handled.”

At that, Tim jumped up and walked into the bathroom, his backpack in hand. He turned on the shower and stepped in, moaning in relief. God, he had worked hard over the past few da… weeks. This day to be selfish was just what he needed. Grayson had been updated on the vegetable stand situation and they had both agreed to not do anything until they could visit together; Dick having plenty of other cases that he could help out on today. Tim was so excited about spending this quality time with his boyfriend, he had never been this invested in date planning before and he was almost nervous about this evening. But first came Jason’s plans and Tim could honestly say he had no idea what the day had in store for him. What a rare extravagance.

He got out of the shower, brushed his teeth and changed into his comfortable clothes, they were ok enough for the quick walk home. The sooner he got home the sooner the date could start. Exiting the bathroom, he gave Jason a quick kiss on the man’s forehead and packed up his bag properly.

“I’ll come get you in forty minutes ok?” Jason said as Tim was walking out of the flat. Tim turned and nodded eagerly, waving a speedy goodbye and _not raced,_ but walked _hastily_ to his own flat.

Jason laughed at his boyfriend’s antics and got himself ready for the day. He had stashed most of the date stuff in a different safe house so that Tim’s snooping skills would never find them. As he washed up the dishes and put them on the rack to dry, he thought about his plans for the day. Not that he was competitive in any way, but he was sure that his date was going to be the best ever and would blow Tim right out of the water.

He got dressed in a pair of relaxed dark wash jeans and a muted patterned shirt – hey, this one had a collar, this was Jason dressing up. Grabbing his trusty black leather jacket, wallet, and keys, he headed out to the second safe house and then drove over to Tim’s apartment.

It was not like Jason’s flat was nicer than Tim’s, in fact, the opposite was true. But, Tim had spent so little time there, that the place never felt comfortable. It still had the furniture that came with the place, and aside from files and case notes and a couple of photos hung up, there was nothing about the entire place that even had a hint that a living person actually resided there. The place was purely used for storage and the odd night of sleep, should Tim ever make it there.

He pressed the buzzer to Tim’s flat 39 minutes after he had said goodbye to the man, and to that he heard “You’re early! I’ll be down in five” from a harried voice. Jason agreed to wait inside of the lobby for the man, and he nodded to the doorman Thomas – nice man, who would often be working both the early and late shift, to get as much salary to pay for his two sons and daughter to go to a good school on the outskirts of Bristol.

Jason sat down on one of the many plush sofas dotted in the lobby, which gave the apartment block an almost hotel feeling, but the manager had wanted to promote a ‘warm and welcoming mood’ about three years ago, according to Tim, and thus, four deep blue sofas were placed haphazardly around the cream lobby along with a glass coffee table and rack of – actually up to date – magazines and newspapers. Damn, it paid to be in this area of Gotham.

Grabbing a magazine that sported a picture of a caravan on the front of it, he relaxed and was prepared to wait the next ten minutes for Tim. (And yes, it would be ten, not the five that Tim had promised, but this time delay made no difference to Jason’s plans, as long as they were out of here in twenty minutes, then everything would work out)

Nine minutes later, the lift dinged Tim’s arrival, who walked directly over to his boyfriend with a slight apologetic grimace on his face. Jason stood and without looking at Tim, shook his head good-naturedly. Then he looked at Tim. And stopped.

Tim, for the first time in a while, was out of anything that resembled either a uniform or jogging bottoms, and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Not that Tim looked gross in his other clothes, but, yeah.

He was wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans with fashionable cutouts at the knees, fraying slightly. Paired with regular shoes, he would’ve looked like any other mid-20s man. Except the shirt, he was wearing had lace. It was a fitted pale purple shirt with lace across the shoulder on his back. He had slung a jacket and scarf on his arm, to be put on when he got outside. Tim’s hair was styled to perfection, out of his eyes, which shone like the most gorgeous of summer days, but with a sense of an untamed mess.

Jason was dumbfounded at the stunning sight in front of him and had to physically shake himself out of his stupor before saying, “Woah, Tim. You look goddamn amazing. Everyone is gonna be so jealous when they see me with you. I love your outfit.”

Tim blushed and brushed his shirt, looking down at his shoes. He glanced at Jason through his eyelashes, at which point Jason could’ve _died_ , and motioned to grab Jason’s hand. Tim smiled at Jason and the pair headed out towards Jason’s car.

“Do I get a hint now Jay? I don’t see scuba gear or hiking equipment…”

Jason laughed and opened Tim’s door, allowing his boyfriend to get in and then walked round to the driver’s side and sat in the seat. He turned towards the detective and held a dark tie in his hand. Tim raised an eyebrow at the material and blinked slowly.

“Just humour me, Timbo. It’s gotta be a surprise right until the end.” Jason pleaded happily, and Tim rolled his eyes, grabbing the tie and tying it around his head, obscuring his sight. Once in place, Jason waved his hand in front of Tim’s face and when there was no visible response, Jason put the car into drive and headed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you get the summary reference?


	6. Tempo a Sorpresa

The car’s engine died, and Tim was still blindfolded - if Jason wanted to surprise Tim, then there was not going to be a second that he will try and ruin it for the man – so he had no idea where they were, and even when he sniffed the air he could not place their location.

Jason let Tim stand next to the car for a few minutes as he hurried round doing ‘stuff’ and ‘things’ as he so eloquently put it. After a little while, Jason came up next to Tim and carefully removed the tie. Tim blinked so as to adjust to the sudden change in light and squinted. He was nowhere that he really recognized, just a normal car park. Then he turned around.

Gotham’s Christmas Wonderland stood right in front of him. With rides and stalls galore, it was a sugar trap for any child and their willing parent. The biggest attraction was the large indoor ice-rink that was painstakingly decorated with twinkling fairy light and plastic icicles and snowflakes to really hone in on its namesake of ‘Wonderland’.

Tim had never been before; when he was a child, it was deemed too ‘common’ for his parents, and when they had both died, he was basically an adult and had no time between studying and qualifying as a police officer to ever take the time to visit the park.

The detective blinked back tears of utter joy before turning around to face his boyfriend, who was holding two large coats in one hand and ear muffs and scarves in the other. Tim rushed to hug Jason, nearly knocking all of the clothes out of the man’s grasp in the process, and whispered, “Jay, this is perfect! Oh god, I’m so excited. What do we do first?”

Jason laughed quietly and dropped Tim back on to the ground, handing over a coat, pair of gloves, ear muffs and a scarf. Tim speedily put on the items and helped Jason put his scarf on, he was almost jumping with excitement. Jason then grabbed Tim’s hand, locked up the car, and the pair headed towards the ice rink.

Surprisingly, the ice rink was empty, and Tim for a second thought that it was closed. He turned towards Jason with a questioning look on his face and halted in his steps. “Jay, it’s closed. It might open up later, we can come back.”

Jason just shook his head and opened the door to the reception area, as responded, “Nah, I rented out the entire rink. Just for an hour mind you, and they wouldn’t normally let anyone do this. But, I know the owner’s daughter and it’s also a school day morning, so there are no children.”

Tim stopped completely and watched as Jason chatted to the receptionist, and gave over their shoe sizes.

Jason had rented out an entire ice rink just for them.

Could this day get any better?

Jason turned around with two pairs of skates in his hands and cocked an eyebrow at Tim’s stunned expression. He walked over and held out a pair of standard black shoes, “Tim, you ok? You don’t need to worry if you haven’t skated before. I mean, I’ve only done it a couple of times, so it’s not like I’m a five-time world champion or anything.”

Tim blinked and grabbed the pair of shoes and shook his head, “That’s not it. Jay, this is amazing. Perfect, actually. I can’t believe you’ve done this. Thank you”

They kissed passionately, if briefly, and took off their normal shoes, and put on the ice rink’s skates. Thank god that Jason had brought along a coat – Tim’s lace shirt was a nice idea outside (and paired with a jacket, was even suitable for November in Gotham) but he would surely freeze once he got on to the ice.

The pair walked slowly out from the rows of seats surrounding the rink and opened the barrier. Jason stood on the ice first and pushed away from the side, he turned around to face Tim and held out a hand.

Tim gratefully held on to it as he shakily took one step on to the ice. It was a strange feeling, like swimming, he supposed. Where mentally you know it’s not walking but it sure felt like it. He took a few tentative shuffles before mimicking Jason’s way of movement, who was standing to the side of Tim, pushing with his feet.

Laughing, the pair lazily did a few laps around the outskirts of the rink, to allow Tim to gain some confidence. Jason made a few comments about getting the plastic penguin that children used to push along in front of them, and Tim just hit Jason on the shoulder and made even surer that he got better and got closer to the center of the rink.

There was some pop music playing through the speakers and Jason started doing some dance moves to the music, much to Tim’s delight. They were both so care-free at that moment, that neither of them noticed the time passing by.

Soon enough, the hour was up, and as much fun as Tim had had, he was glad to take a breather. They sat down and removed their skates and walked with socked feet, back to the reception area to pick up their normal shoes and get their stuff.

Tim had no idea where Jason could take them next, surely he wouldn’t start with the best thing?

They headed out towards the rest of the park, where there were stalls and mini rides for children. Stopping at a candied apple stand, Jason paid for one and also candied strawberries on a stick. The amount of sugar in each one was bound to get them on such a high, Tim wasn’t sure when they would get off it, but the flavour was so unique that they quickly ate down both ‘fruits’ as they walked through the various stalls selling homemade crafts and trinkets. Christmas was really getting earlier and earlier, but Tim didn’t mind. It was late November, so it could be forgiven.

Jason held Tim’s gloved hand (the other had gotten rather sticky) and swung it between them, happy to wander through the ‘streets’ for a while. They played some of the carnival type games, coconut-throwing, and hook-a-duck, though Jason avoided any and all gun-related games, and Tim was happy to comply; after all, being a cop, he did have an advantage at shooting games, he supposed.

After buying two hot chocolates with all the trimmings, Tim and Jason walked next to each other along the pathway. They were both content to just people watch for a while and be happy with each other’s company. Tim looked up at Jason, his green eyes twinkling from the reflective lights and he had a small smile on his relaxed face. Tim sighed at the sight of his boyfriend just being not thinking and just… being.

It was getting to lunchtime and Jason’s stomach, that had begun grumbling about half an hour ago, was now gurgling loudly. The man laughed, embarrassed, saying as he looked down at his phone for the time, “Well that’s part one. Shall we head off to the next stop?”

Tim nodded and finished his drink, putting it in the bin and reaching for Jason’s hand.

In the car, they chatted good-naturedly about the young children they had seen throughout the park and the stressed parents that followed in close proximity.

Jason stopped the car outside of a restaurant that was unknown to Tim; as in it wasn’t a takeaway or a diner. They got out of the car and headed inside. The maître d'hôtel stood by a wooden stand and ushered them to a table next to the window, introducing them to their waitress.

The waitress, Caitlyn, handed over two leather menus and brought over a carafe style jug of iced water. Tim took a moment to observe the restaurant – decorated in dark reds, it would seem too dour for a lunchtime, but there were large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling making the room light and inviting. There were paintings of famous cities of Italy on the walls; Rome, Venice, Florence and such like. On their table, there was a small branched candle holder with three candles lit in it, as well as delicate linen white napkins with the restaurant’s name stitched into a pattern of roses and other flowers.

Tim opened the menu and turned to the lunch section. Being a traditional Italian there were the expected plates of pasta and pizzas. What took Tim’s eyes was the section that read ‘Chef’s specials’; _Bruschette con la n’duja, Arancini, and Culurgiones_ stood out the most. He looked at Jason, “Where is the chef from? I don’t recognise any of these dishes.”

“Oh, he’s from Calabria. It’s the most southern region of Italy, so it’s less influenced from other countries like Switzerland and Germany for its dishes. But that region is also where pizza was basically invented, so I’d suggest that as well. I once helped the chef out from a sticky situation, so I’ve learned all about his region and stuff.”

Woah, Jason sure helped out a lot of people. But, Tim supposed, this was to impress him, so of course, the man would choose situations where Jason could be at an advantage. Tim nodded and once the waitress came over, ordered the bruschetta to start, with culugiones for ‘primi piatti’ and a traditional Margherita pizza for ‘secondo’. Jason ordered bruschette pomodoro, spaghetti alle vongole, and also a Margherita pizza. He ordered a bottle of house white wine between the two of them; it was only one o'clock after all.

They discussed Tim’s latest case whilst they waited for their food, Jason clearly interested in the way Tim had gone about finding out about the Fruit and Vegetable shop, obviously impressed with Tim’s ‘hacking’ skills.

The starters were incredible, as was the first course – Jason’s clams were cooked to perfection, and the ravioli style pasta with ricotta cheese and mint was so refreshing that Tim didn’t mind all the carbs he was eating.

The Margherita pizza – “To celebrate Regina Margherita, hence the red white and green of the pizza” as Jason explained – was cooked in a stone oven and it showed in the taste. Tim had eaten his share of pizzas in his life, Papa John’s was just a viable option as Panda Express when he managed to order food, but this pizza was so delicious, he wanted to be able to make his own. Not that he would ever have the time to do so, but hey, a man can dream.

The conversation never died between the two, and they happily talked about a range of subjects; Dent’s re-election, the latest anime Tim was in to, Jason’s bike repairs, and so on.

They finished their meal stuffed and relaxed, just as Jason had planned. Tim reclined in his seat and heaved a deep sigh. How would he ever work all this off?

And, more importantly, how would his half of the day compare against the magnificence of Jason’s?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent a while in Calabria when I was younger, so I just included all my favourite dishes from the area.


	7. No luck catching them swans then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EXPLICIT rating change!  
> Tim's half of the date

As they exited the restaurant, Tim’s part of the date began. Due to the fact that they had travelled in Jason’s car, Tim directed the man the way to their next stop.

After all that food, a walk was certainly in order.

They arrived at Gotham’s zoo a little over half an hour later, midday traffic was always bad, especially as they had headed out of the city and was more situated in the suburbs. Parking up, Jason looked at Tim, “I love the zoo! Man, can we go to the petting place first?” It had been a while since Jason had been able to visit the zoo, Damian deemed it too childish well over two years ago, and really, he worried that going alone was either too lonely or looked too strange.

Tim had pre-ordered tickets and they picked it up at the registers at the entrance. He hadn’t known about Jason’s love for the petting zoo, so they headed over there first. It being November, there weren’t many small animals, but there were plenty of goats to feed and there was even a miniature pig. As the enclosure was inside, there was little worry about weather and temperature. Jason was like a child at Christmas, something that Tim had not seen before, and quickly paid for two bags of feed before carefully – but excitedly – getting up close to a dark coloured goat and feeding it out of his hand.

The pair continued to feed all the nosy animals for about twenty minutes, and after thoroughly cleaning their hands, made a move towards the bigger animals. The elephants were wandering through their enclosure and were eating some sort of grass. Gotham Zoo was less like a traditional zoo and more like a wildlife park, funded through the Wayne Foundation they had modeled it on the many French ‘parc naturals’ where the visitors walked through the enclosures rather than the animals being kept locked up, of course at a non-obtrusive distance. Tim’s favourite were the giraffes – their eyelashes were just so pretty – and they managed to purchase food from a vendor that was suitable to feed the giraffes, much to the animal’s appreciation.

Jason talked animatedly about the many documentaries he had watched as a child; David Attenborough was a solid favourite, and once Tim mentioned the latest show ‘Blue Planet’ they argued about which was the cutest sea animal - seal or penguin?

It was so great to be able to continue this natural conversation as Tim had worried about his ability to talk for hours on end. Seemingly, Jason was happy to talk about anything as long as Tim appeared interested in the subject too. They wandered through the rest of the zoo, pointing out the beautiful birds of paradise, and both wanting to avoid the ‘twilight zone’ that involved bats off all kinds as well as Tim’s personal suggestion for Room 101 – the naked mole rat.

Towards the end of the zoo route the sky was getting darker, at this point, both Jason and Tim were exhausted from their rather involved day. Tim hadn’t known what Jason had planned, but he had made two different plans for his part of the date; movie and dinner out or… movie and dinner in.

Personally, he was excited about the idea of cooking with Jason, and the potential situations that would arise from being around each other in Jason’s flat. He was tired, not dead.

He Post-Mates’d the ingredients for tacos to be delivered to Jason’s flat around fifteen minutes after they got back, they had picked up another overnight bag for Tim first, so now it was well and truly evening in cold Gotham.

Together, they cooked up a spicy chili sauce for the taco’s as well as Jason making up his own recipe for guacamole and sour cream dips for the nachos. Tim had packed, along with clothes and stuff, his ROKU stick to attach to Jason’s TV. Normally, Tim’s larger TV would be more suitable but the pair agreed that Jason’s place just seemed more… comfortable.

There was a fair bit of tension in the air as they sat down on the sofa and put on Netflix. The dinner was delicious and it was a nice touch from Tim to also have packed little tea lights to place on the coffee table, the scent of ‘fluffy towels’ permeating through the kitchen-cum-living room. They had settled on watching ‘Hot Fuzz’, as Jason seemed for some unexplained reason, against ‘iZombie’, and they both agreed that Simon Pegg was hilarious in this film.

Tim sat with his feet in Jason’s lap with his back against one end of the sofa, Jason sat at the other end. Jason casually started rubbing at Tim’s ankle bones, in random circles. This relaxed Tim and allowed him to concentrate on the TV, at least until they finished their food. At this point, Tim started becoming agitated, wanting to kiss Jason. He had decided earlier in the day that they were at the point in their relationship to take things further, Jason had allowed Tim to set the pace for mostly everything, and before he had felt that to commit to being in a sexual relationship was a level that he didn’t want to be at, whereas right now, there was nothing more the man would like to do.

Jason grabbed Tim’s ankles in one hand saying in a grumbling tone, “Stop fidgeting Timbo, you’re missing out on quality entertainment here. There’s been no luck catching them swans then.”

Tim huffed, “I can be quality entertainment though.”

At this, Jason glanced at Tim at Tim and saw the determination in those blue eyes. He quirked one eyebrow before dragging Tim’s ankles, forcing the man to shuffle down the sofa towards his boyfriend. Tim giggled and repositioned so that he was sat on Jason’s lap, straddled around his waist. Their lips connected fiercely and conveyed the want that both men felt. One of Jason’s hands reached up into Tim’s styled hair and the other went to Tim’s lower back, to push the detective even closer to him. Tim moaned at this move and reached up to hold Jason’s face in his hands, stroking his fingers against defined cheekbones.

Tongues twisted around each other, followed by heavy breathing from both men. Tim sat up straighter from his position so that he was kissing Jason from a higher spot, Jason took this at moved his mouth down Tim’s neck, sucking and licking the resulting red marks he left behind. Tim moaned and started to grind on Jason’s lap, resulting in kisses with more fervour from the man beneath him. He could feel the result of this make-out session in Jason’s jeans, and normally, this was where the pair would separate to… cool down. But not tonight.

Tim ran his hands down Jason’s chest feeling the hard muscle below the shirt and he started unbuttoning it. “Tim, babe, you alright with this?” Jason paused in his advances to check on his boyfriend. Tim only looked back with a horny daze and blinked slowly, “Jay, please, I think we’re ready”.

Jason needed no more explanation and quickly unbuttoned Tim’s shirt whilst kissing Tim, whose hands were now too busy grabbing handfuls of Jason’s unruly dark hair. Tim continued to roll his hips and Jason faltered slightly when their cocks aligned and rubbed against each other through the two layers of denim. Jason then undid his own shirt and threw it somewhere across the room, no was not the time to worry about creases.

They needed to move somewhere more comfortable, and stat, before they made a mess out of Jason’s sofa. Jason reached his arms around Tim’s small waist and lifted the man up as he stood up. He walked confidently through to his bedroom and dropped Tim on to his unmade bed. Tim saved his fall by putting his hands out on to the bed and he looked up at the advancing man. Jason shucked off his jeans and socks leaving only a pair of pale grey boxer briefs. He paused before reaching for Tim’s waistband and Tim took the opportunity to lift his hips and allow Jason to remove the obstructive clothing.

Both suitably undressed, Jason leaned down over Tim and smashed their lips together, their passion overtook and their tongues twisted once more. They shuffled up the bed so that they were closer to the headboard. Tim’s hands were running up Jason’s back and he linked his ankles together around Jason’s waist, pulling the man closer to him, feeling Jason’s dick press insistently at his hipbone. Tim ground up his hips to try and gain a sense of friction, whilst pressing Jason further into him via his feet. He gasped and tilted his head as Jason trailed kisses down Tim's neck to his collarbone and his chest. The sensation of a tongue swirling around his nipple made Tim whimper, Jason's teeth dragging delicately over the erect bud.

 Jason’s hands wandered all over Tim’s body- his hips and backs of his thighs were obviously the most favoured areas for the man. As Jason’s mouth caressed Tim’s stomach and edged its way down to his boxers Tim’s mind nearly blanked at the feeling. It had been so long since anyone but himself had touched him in a sensual way and he was certain that the ministrations were just pushing him closer to the sweet release of a climax. Jason tugged at Tim’s boxers and Tim canted his hips slightly so they could be discarded quickly. Once they were suitably on the floor, Jason took a second to admire the flushed body beneath him. Tim’s eyes were shining with pure need and his blush was now reaching down his neck and framing his chest. His hands were clutching the bed covers as if Tim was desperate to get his hands on something else instead.

Tim whined at the absence of Jason’s hands and mouth “Jay... p-please” he stuttered out in a whisper.

Jason smiled at the beauty and leaned back down to continue his trail downwards. When he got to Tim's flushed cock he began licking the underside vein, with one hand circling the base. Tim bucked which led to Jason putting his other hand on Tim's hips, to hold him down for a second. Jason returned to sucking Tim's cock - he could fit almost all of it in his mouth without choking. On his way up, he would drag his tongue and lick at the slit, before circling his mouth into a tight circle. Tim gasped and tugged at Jason's hair as if to direct him. Soon enough Tim was whimpering, "Jay, Jayce, st-stop..." and Jason knelt up, leaving Tim's dick to twitch from the loss of contact.

Jason smiled down at the absolutely disheveled man beneath him and was dragged up back into a passionate kiss, Tim tasting his pre-come on Jason's tongue. Tim's feet started to push at Jason's boxer briefs, and Jason got the hint. He slipped off the bed and took off his underwear, grabbing the bottle of lube and a condom packet from the bedside table. He knelt back over Tim and the pair smiled at each other.

"You wanna top or bottom?" Jason bluntly asked a blushing Tim, who giggled and stroked his fingers over Jason's chest, feeling the pounding heartbeat beneath the golden skin. "Tonight, I want you to fuck me. We'll see where we go from there" Tim responded with a raised eyebrow and a sultry smile, only serving to increase the rapid heartbeat. They embraced and kissed once more, grinding their finally unclothed dicks against each other. Once Tim started to whine, he already had been at the edge and was only a second away from climax, Jason brushed his fingers over Tim's hole, feeling it respond. He blindly poured a liberal amount of lube over his fingers and traced the rim once more. "Jay put it in me. I want to feel you" Tim whispered into Jason's neck, where he was happily sucking dark marks over his skin. When Tim felt a finger breach him, he sucked in a breath and held it. It had been ... a while since someone last had done this with him, and despite numerous times himself, it never felt the same as having someone stretch you. Jason's middle finger reached into Tim and begun to drag in and out. Jason panted heavily in Tim's ears and murmured, "Tim... so hot... can't wait to fuck you".

Two and then three fingers stretched Tim and scissored him, getting him ready for Jason's cock. At this thought, Tim moved his hand, licked it thoroughly and braced it around Jason's cock, feeling its wide girth and considerable length. He circled his hand around it and began to push his hand up and down. Jason stuttered in his movements and groaned at the feeling of Tim's hands finally being on his straining dick. He brushed Tim's hand aside and quickly wrapped the condom on and braced himself next to Tim's hole.

He pushed in and Tim keened at the sudden pressure inside him. He arched his back and brought Jason in for another kiss, trying to handle his breathing. Inch by inch, Jason continued and once he was seated fully, he huffed out, "Damn Tim, so goddamn tight. I swear you're a dream come true". Tim smiled and scratched his fingernails through Jason's hair, "Jay... fuck me. C'mon". Jason licked at Tim's lips and started to slowly move his dick back out of Tim's hole, and pushed back in. Soon enough he was able to get most of his movement to be fluid and began to thrust harder. He felt Tim’s hitch in a breath every time he pushed all the way back in and braced his hands at the back of Tim’s knees like he was kneeling up. Tim’s legs were in the air and all of his weight was on his shoulders. He moaned at the change in angle and Jason continued to pound into Tim, trying to reach the one spot that would give Tim the most pleasure. He realised he had found it when Tim shouted out. Jason smiled and brought his mouth back on to the detective’s, only serving to deepen the angle.

They continued like this until Tim’s moaning was reaching an almost frenzied level, Jason could feel the tightening around his cock and whispered into Tim’s ear, “C’mon babe, come for me.” Tim arched his back in one final scream and came forcefully between them, Jason following suit, filling out the condom.

They both gasped for breath and held each other tightly as they came down from their highs. Gently, Jason moved out of Tim and took off the condom, tying it and throwing it in to the nearby bin. He looked down at the debauched man beneath him and kissed him.

Gingerly, they both moved towards the bathroom and cleaned themselves up in the shower, sharing loving kisses whilst shampooing each other. Getting out of the shower, they dressed in to jogging trousers and t shirts and wandered back into the living room, hand in hand, to continue the film that they had carelessly abandoned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing anything remotely explicit so if you have advice/changes just tell me!


	8. He knows I know that you know that I know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim notices a massive bruise on Jason's ribs and it starts to take over his thoughts

After the movie, which they never got to see due to Tim’s falling asleep about ten minutes into it, the pair had moved to the tidied bedroom and slept peacefully next to each other, more comfortable to start the evening wrapped up in an embrace.

Jason woke up to Tim’s alarm at 5:30 a.m. and without opening his eyes, sensed Tim creeping around the room trying to pick up his clothes that were strewn around the room. Tim had to be at the station by 6:15 to make up for the time lost yesterday and to catch up on any changes to the numerous cases he was involved in. Jason reached for the bedside lamp and switched it on to allow Tim the freedom to get his stuff quickly. “Morning Jay” whispered a half-asleep Tim as he hastily picked up his underwear and moved to the bathroom to get dressed and pack up his stuff. He had packed a uniform pre-empting a potential ‘sleepover’ and was glad yet again for his extravagant planning for every potential outcome.

Jason moaned a response and turned so that he could watch as his boyfriend changed from Tim to Detective Drake GCPD. It was quite a sight to see, as if the man was putting on a mask to shield him from the ugly sights he would no doubt see throughout the day. Tim stared at himself in the mirror and took in a deep breath, steadying himself for the upcoming shift. He wandered back out of the bathroom and quickly kissed Jason on the forehead. At that, the man flipped over to look up at his boyfriend and smiled, pulling him down for a proper kiss.

“Go, work hard. I’ll see you tomorrow probably” Jason knew that Tim’s case with the Falcones would probably take up most of the next few days if his hunches and ‘interviews’ whilst patrolling were anything to go by. Tim grinned back and replied, “Go back to sleep Jay, I’ll text you when I get to the station”. Tim only briefly noticed the large yellowing bruise covering Jason’s ribs - he really missed it last night, but then he was too involved in being taken apart - now, he was too focused on getting out in time and thought nothing of it.

Once Tim left the apartment, Jason fell back asleep for a few blissful hours – his shift at the library didn’t start until one so he could easily fit in a quick training session before heading over. Waking up at 8 a.m. (like a normal person) Jason packed a gym bag and sauntered over to his local gym. Yesterday was brilliant, and last night was the best thing that had happened in… a while for Jason, but that didn’t stop the fact that he had built up energy from not patrolling at all for nearly 36 hours. He needed to work out the excess so that he wasn’t tense during his shift at the library.

~

Tim, however, had made it to the station at 6:10 and had already grabbed a steaming mug of coffee. He sat down at his desk and woke up his computer. Thinking about his date with Jason suddenly reminded of that yellow bruise that he saw. Jason had never brought up getting hurt, so Tim couldn’t see a situation where a bruise like that could occur. Strange. It wasn’t like Jason to not tell Tim things, was it?

A beeping from his computer shook him from his reverie and alerted him to another hit on Joe’s Fruit and Veg – yet another victim had a shopping bag from there when there were attacked, though this one was not with a knife and so was not connected to the other assaults. Tim emailed the update to both Renee and Jim as well as texting Dick asking when he was coming in. He wanted a heads-start before there was a chance for any more victims. Before then, he had to finish the case files for the recently closed cases; a recent arrest of a few of Penguin cronies thatweres connected to a robbery of the Mayor’s office needed to be typed up and liaised with the B&E officers, and an increase in thievery of diamonds made hints that Catwoman was back from her trip to wherever and not that there was a new gang of diamond thieves, so that needed to be filled out and passed over to the ‘Supervillain’ department (Tim wasn’t sure what to call the officers who dealt with Batman’s villains, so that’s their name in his head).

Dick came sauntering in at around 7:45 whilst Tim was engrossed in finishing up his non-knife gang crimes, and as such, was startled when Dick dropped a muffin and a takeaway cup of coffee on top of his files. “Morning Timbo, ready for a day of surveillance?” Dick asked way too cheerily for this early in the morning. Tim huffed and moved the muffin off his work and quickly gulped down the scalding coffee, responding grumpily, “Dick, I asked when you were going to be in over half an hour ago. Never mind, I’ll finish up here and we’ll head over to Joe’s hopefully before he opens”. Dick sat down at his temporary desk pushed up next to Tim’s and he watched the young detective quickly type up the last notes on the closed cases. Dick’s eyes glazed over in boredom and his mind drifted to ways he can bring up Jason today, without seeming like he knew anything about him.

Fifteen minutes later, Tim saved all the files and shut down his computer and stood up. Without a word, he put on his jacket and nodded his head in the direction of the door. “So, not talking? Well, that’s fine I guess, I can talk enough for the both of us. Okaaaaay, as you were having your ‘day off’ to do whoever – I mean, whatever – I had to work with Lieutenant Bilbao in Homicides, and he is not a fun guy. Must be all the murder I guess. On top of that, Montoya asked me to help her with interviewing some new suspects in that case that she’s mediating on? That was so beyond boring I-“

“Grayson, please.” Tim interrupted the never-ending spiel coming out of Dick’s mouth, “Can we just discuss the case that we're are currently on?” They walked out on to the pavement and ended up next to Dick’s squad car. Dick smiled awkwardly and nodded quickly, assenting to Tim’s strange mood.

Being around Dick only served as a reminder that Jason hadn’t told him about the bruises, and this was aggravating the detective’s part of his brain so much that he needed this case to distract him. Tim got into the passenger’s side of the car and waited for Dick to start the engine.

The silence was not awkward, per se, but it was not going to be broken by the sullen Tim. Dick decided to start up a new topic of conversation, “So, Joe’s Fruit and Veg, huh? What do you think this actually has to do with the knife crimes?”

Tim heaved a sigh of relief that finally, he could concentrate on something that wasn’t yellow, sore and whose name rhymed with shmason. He faced Dick who was focusing on getting out of the tight car parking space and replied with a forced even tone, “I guess, that the shop is where they identify victims. Highly likely that it is not their base of operations, but they might put trackers or something into the bags as not all the victims were within a kilometer of the shop when they were attacked.” Tim’s revelation made Dick think of the Bat GPS things that he has in his suit if Lucius could make something that small be untraceable, then maybe a gang of rather underfunded creepozoids could do something similar?

~

Surveillance of the fruit and veg shop did little to ease Tim’s racing mind – the bruises looked serious, if old, and the fact that Jason had never once brought it up made Tim worry – and this only increased his irritation at Dick’s ‘funny’ monologues.

They had stacked up on bottled coffee, water, sandwiches and day-old donuts – “This is what the public thinks we are worth Timbo, day-old donuts!” – and they were settled in for a full day of observation. If nothing was gained from a daytime excursion, then they had already planned a night-time surveillance for the following day.

Nothing was happening.

Well, that was a lie. People were entering the shop, and leaving with the more bags if not the same number of bags they had entered with. There seemed to be no exchanging, or any form of shady business going on. Which made sense, no legitimate business would sully their daytime retinue with illegal transactions. But, it needed to be done, and as bored as Tim was, he was happy that he wasn’t at his computer and straining his eyes even more than they already were.

Dick, unfortunately, decided at that moment, to start up yet another conversation. “So, Tim (Tim knew it was serious when Dick dropped the nickname) what did you do yesterday?” Tim shuffled jerkily in his seat and thought about ways he could deflect the question. Deciding that honesty – or semi-honesty as was the case – was the best policy, he answered mumbling, “Went ice skating and to the zoo. Y’know couples stuff.” Dick gasped at this information, _who knew his little brother could be so romantic_ and asked for more details, which he was denied. He pouted at this and decided enough was enough.

“Jason is sweet on ya isn’t he?”

Tim froze.

He blinked once and kept his gaze on the quiet shop in front of him.

He had no idea what to say, for the first time.

His heartbeat increased dramatically and he was internally freaking out.

Dick laughed once in a breath and shook his head, “Jason knows I know. He knows that you know I know. Now you know that I know that you know I know. Surely, we can talk about it now…” He patted the stiff shoulder of his brother’s boyfriend and shifted in his seat.

“I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations” Tim answered in a calm voice, “But hypothetically, if it was Jason, then hypothetically, I would be just as sweet on him… hypothetically”

Dick laughed loudly and allowed the stressed detective to continue with his stakeout.

~

Jason’s time at the gym helped clear his head, there was no way he would go to the cave and potentially face the Demon - or worse the Bat, and as he headed back to his apartment, he passed a small convenience store and bought a sandwich for his lunch. Once he returned to his flat, he showered and devoured the sandwich. He checked the time – 12:34 – and he had just enough time to grab a smoothie on his way to work, hey, he deserved it.

The librarian that he took over from informed him that other than the ‘youths’ hanging about in the YA section, there was nothing to report. Jason smiled gratefully and set up his workstation ready for doing the afternoon shift. The ‘youths’ were not going to be a problem and were probably just using the library as a sanctuary from the heavy rain that was now falling. And he’d rather they be in here, potentially expanding their minds, than out on the streets doing whatever.

Afternoon turned to late afternoon, and soon enough, it was time for him to shut up shop and start preparing for another night of patrol. He only hoped that tonight wouldn’t be as boring as his day was.


	9. Down, but not out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason's wish for a non-quiet patrol just got granted

Well, Jason got what he wished for, to say the least. He panted as he ran across the street being closely followed by what can only be described as a group of over-drugged but under-paid gang ‘groupies’ that were desperate to make their way up the rankings by finally catching the dastardly Red Hood. Normally, this would be child’s play for Jason, except he has sporting a large gash in his upper left thigh that was too deep to take lightly thanks to a _slight misjudgement_ and he needed Dr Leslie’s help for sure. All he needed to do was get away from the drugged up certified hot messes following him and secure his location so that he could call for Barbara to get him under Dr Thompkins’ care and attention.

He turned sharply around a corner, safe in the knowledge that he had finally escaped them and could call Oracle for back up. “O?” he questioned his never-turned-on comm.

A surprised but always straight to the point female voice responded in kind, “Red Hood? What’s wrong?”

Jason laughed at the no nonsense question, Barbara was never the type to beat around the bush, and she knew that Jason would never call except for when it was an emergency. Gritting his teeth his grunted out, “I need about eight hundred stitches in my thigh, where’s Leslie?”

Oracle tapped a few keys and hummed, knowing that if Jason was okay enough to exaggerate then she needn’t call out the Birds of Prey _just yet_. “She’ll be in the cave tonight – Damian twisted his ankle during soccer practice funnily enough, and refused the school nurse so Bruce is making sure he’s alright.”

Jason rolled his eyes – of course Leslie was the one place he didn’t want to be. He hadn’t stepped foot in the cave in nearly seven months, too wary of the judgement and ‘love’ he received every time he did so. But, his patrol uniform was steadily getting wetter and wetter with his blood and there was no way in hell he had enough mental strength to sew his ripped muscles back together.

Already regretting it he asked, “Could you get someone to come pick me up? I can’t get back to my bike without banging into the goon squad again”

“Nightwing will be with you in three minutes, Hood. He knows not to ask too many questions” Barbara had probably messaged Dick the second she answered his call, knowing the severity of the situation. Jason heaved a sigh and waited in his hiding place until he heard the rumble of Nightwing’s ‘Wing’ and headed out in to the dimly lit street.

Dick parked his bike and waited for Jason to approach, “Oracle told me what happened so I thought rather than let you bleed all over my car, I’d bring the bike.” Jason laughed and sat on the back of the seat, with his arm carefully placed on Dick – he didn’t want to hug the man in any way shape or form, but neither did he want to fall off the bike and get new wounds before getting these ones tended to, but he did appreciate not being closed in within the confines of a car tonight.

Arriving at the cave, Jason braced himself for the barrage of questions that was no doubt waiting for him, but was surprised to see only Dr Thompkins at the medical table, cleaning her equipment before another damaged ‘child’ of Bruce’s demanded her assistance. Jason limped over – he refused Dick’s support as he felt like he was already in too much debt to be comfortable – and smiled warmly at Leslie. The woman had never made him feel like he didn’t belong and never asked deep enough questions to test their relationship in any way – she already knew most of the answers and saw no need to delve into unknown waters until Jason saw the benefit of doing so (which, granted, Leslie thought that Jason could do with some therapy, but who could he tell that he was essentially a zombie back to life, fighting crime every night with a man dressed as a bat who was actually a billionaire playboy and his ex-adoptive father because, oh yeah, _he died_?).

“Jason, Barbara told me to expect a long procedure tonight. Let me look at you.” Leslie turned and patted Jason on the arm, trying to determine the severity whilst seeming calm as always. Jason undid his trousers and removed them gingerly, careful of brushing against his torn ligaments. Luckily, it had stopped bleeding about ten minutes ago, and he had kept a spare t shirt of Dick’s from the small storage compartment on the back of the motorcycle pressed on to it, holding the skin together. Now, he could see the damage that the stupid gang member had done to him. Serves him right for thinking he saw Tim walk across the streets whilst he was fighting off three violent people. It wasn’t Tim, but that break in focus meant that one of them got a great angle and properly stabbed him, most likely tearing a few tendons.

He braced himself to sit up on the medical table and laid down, staring up in to the blackness of the ‘roof’ of the batcave. Leslie paused to assess the wound – 14 stitches, probable infection, torn rectus femoris and possible torn vastus lateralis – and turned to gather her equipment. If she back in hospital, she would give a general aesthetic and allow the patient proper time to heal, but as she was dealing with the batfam, she could only give a local anaesthetic and hope that Jason takes the next two nights off, but knew she would be lucky if he just took tomorrow off.

The procedure took around an hour, Leslie carefully cleaning the wound – who knows what else that knife had touched – taking a blood sample, and stitching the skin back together. She bandaged it up and wrapped a dressing all around his thigh. Throughout this, Jason hadn’t uttered a word and the only reaction given was a randomly clenched and unclenched fist.

Leslie patted Jason on the calf (whilst running her fingers down the muscles to check for further injuries) and stood back to allow Jason time to get himself together. Dick had brought over his old crutches and handed them to the doctor. Jason grimaced when he saw what was in store for him.

“Thanks, Dr Thompkins. I really appreciate this.”

Leslie nodded and accepted the thanks, “I know you won’t not patrol for the three weeks you should, but please, for the next week, can you use these when you’re not patrolling? Just to give your leg a break.”

Jason liked that Leslie hadn’t enforced a benching, like Bruce would, and accepted that he needed a break for now. Three days off sounded great, and from what he had discovered related to Tim’s Falcone case. Tim would be busy but he could at least look after him whilst the detective overworked himself.

“I promise. Thanks, Leslie.”

He gave the doctor a grateful smile and headed back to the bike, where Dick was waiting. He had gotten nearly though a full trip to the cave with no interaction from Bruce and he couldn’t believe it.

“Jason!”

Damn, he spoke too soon.

Groaning, he turned to face the man striding towards him. He hadn’t spoken to Bruce since their last big bust up, excluding patrol communications, and he really did not want to break the silence tonight, but needs must. Bruce would only follow him home and who knows what would happen then.

“Hey Bruce.” Jason said in a forced, but calm voice. _Don’t let him get to you, just get out._

“14 stitches to the thigh is a serious matter, why didn’t you tell me?” Bruce boomed as he got closer to the men. Dick tensed, awaiting the battle that would in no doubt occur if Bruce continued with this condescension.

True enough, Jason rose to the bait, “Didn’t think you’d care enough, you know, me being the _failure_ and all that”. Hoping this was all that needed to be said, he turned back to Dick and the motorbike, walking the final few steps. Bruce paused in his marching and winced at the words he had so carelessly flung at Jason’s face a few months ago. His son was hurting and he had no idea how to convey that he did actually worry over every little aspect of Jason’s life.

“Jason… I do care… it’s just-“

“Save it” Jason snapped, and got on to the bike. Dick started up the engine and shook his head at Bruce, silently asking him to stop and let Jason have his alone time to be vulnerable. Bruce understood the gesture and brought his hand back down from where he had tried to grab at Jason’s jacket.

He needed to reach out to his son, who he had hurt – along with the rest of the world – too many times to count. The only problem was, he had no idea how to do this. Well, except the one thing he definitely knew how to do; research.

~

Jason let Dick help him up to his flat as three flights, let alone fourteen, was not to be sniffed at, and the thought of walking up them alone made him shudder. Dick had suggested scaling up the side, but the sun was coming up and they would easily be noticed.

Opening up the door, he limped into his living room and grabbed a tossed pair of jogging bottoms that was strewn next to the sofa. Dick edged in to the apartment, desperately taking in all he could before he was undoubtedly chucked out. Testing the waters, he tentatively asked the wounded man, “Jayce, can I make you some food? You look too worn out to even think about cooking.”

Jason paused for a second to weigh up the pros and cons of allowing Dick even further in to his flat, let alone his _life_ , and the grumbling of his stomach answered the question before he could.

“Not sure what I’ve got in the fridge. But, thanks, Dick”

Dick smiled and happily walked to the kitchen area, looking around for any sort of food. In the fridge he found non-out of date eggs and milk, so it seemed omelettes were on the menu.


	10. Three little words...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I got stabbed"  
> Is not necessarily the best three words put together in a sentence

Tim was not impressed with the feeble excuse of being mugged when he was out to get milk, but Jason didn’t have the energy to flush out a more reasonable lie. He was tired. All he wanted was to lie on his semi-comfortable sofa and tuck into one of the many pre-prepared meals Alfred had delivered to his one known safe house earlier in the morning. He had had about seventy minutes of blissful sleep before the pain kicked in, and stubborn as he was, Jason didn’t want to rely on codeine to take the feeling away.

He was woken to the sound of knocking at his door and after a couple of minutes struggling, he opened it to see a uniformed, but out of hours, Tim standing there holding a paper bag of something that smelled amazing, and a coffee cup which was probably for the cop and not the injured boyfriend.

Tim leaned up a brushed a restrained kiss on Jason’s cheek before saying, “I brought chicken noodle soup from down the road, figured what with you being sliced open and all, you might not have had the time to do grocery shopping.” Tim raised his left eyebrow minutely, probably just a twitch to someone who wasn’t trained by the Bat but to Jason, it screamed ‘I’m mad but I can’t show it’

The pair walked into the kitchen, one more gingerly than the other, and sat down at the small dining table there. Tim pushed the paper bag over to Jason and grabbed a clean spoon. The injured man gratefully accepted both items and slowly began slurping at the still hot, but delicious, food.

The silence remained as Jason finished eating and Tim watched rather ominously. The atmosphere was slightly too tense for Jason’s liking but he couldn’t face a fight without sustenance. Once he had finished, he looked up at his boyfriend, trying to ascertain what exactly about the situation Tim was mad at; the stabbing, the obvious lie, or the fact that he didn’t think to tell Tim until the next day?

Turns out; all three.

“I can’t believe you, Jason. I have access to a cop car, I could easily have got those guys for you, for Gotham. But nooooo, suddenly you can’t remember what they looked like?! It’s my job to look after people in this city, to protect them. That includes you, Jason. I don’t know what you got involved in last night, but the least you could’ve done was to call me when you got to the hospital. I mean, c’mon man, I love you, but there’s only so much stress you can add to a person’s life before they up and die of cardiac arrest or something-“

Jason’s eyes widened slightly and Tim stopped his lecture. He couldn’t work out what exactly had shocked the man until he thought back over what he had just said.

_“C’mon man, I love you”_

Okay, well, that happened. It was out in the open. Tim’s feelings were out in the open. For Jason. For Jason to know and think about. And still, think about. Okay, Jason hadn’t said anything in a while now.

The man in question was too shocked by the unconscious declaration to think about what he felt about it. Tim loved him. Tim loved Jason. The cop loved the vigilante (though he didn’t know about this particular side job). Wow.

Tim shifted in his seat and began to shrink into himself and Jason didn’t hesitate before grabbing the man’s hand and looking at his boyfriend’s doubting eyes. “Tim, I love you too”. That simple sentence caused a small grin on the cop’s face, but his eyes danced with joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Got super stuck with how to write then, I know what I want to write just can't express it in the right way - but here's a little snippet to let you know I'm working on it!


	11. You can be my wing man anytime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Drake makes his next move on the Falcones

Joe’s Fruit and Veg was becoming just another dead end out of the countless Tim had already encountered in this case. This had to be gang-related, but this shop was not the base of operations and apparently had no clear link to any nefarious people or organisations. It was time for undercover.

Dick was not happy when Montoya backed up Tim’s decision to go undercover as a hapless college student trying to become healthier. It didn’t matter that Tim was ‘made for it’ or that he had done it ‘so many times, Dick, chill out’. Surely a person trained by the Bat himself would do better? (Though this wasn’t Dick’s argument, obviously)

This led to him sitting a block down from the shop with Detective Montoya sat next to him in her clean but overused Renault Clio ‘Cleo’, watching as a drably dressed Detective Drake wandered into Joe’s with a small but powerful wire taped underneath his oversized GU hoodie.

_“Can I help you, young man?”_ Dick heard an older man’s voice interrupt Tim in his perusing of the vegetables. This must be Joe or his brother, Mark, but without visual (Tim refused to wear the webcam contacts, or have a little camera on him as he said it increased the chance of discovery)

_“Yeah, please if you don’t mind.”_

_“Of course! What can I do for you?”_

_“I’m wanting to try more vegetarian meals, and I was told to try out a zucchini lasagne. I tried following an online recipe, but for some reason, it just tasted weird.”_ This point was important, as Tim would then flash his high tech phone, whilst inadvertently showing off his Armani watch, and any thief worth his weight would recognize the wealth that this customer had despite his ‘college poor boy’ aesthetic.

_“Ahh, you probably used an out of season zucchini there. It would be better to try eggplant or something similar, they’re sturdier for a lasagne as well. Here you go.”_

_“Oh okay, thank you so much…?”_

_“Mark, no problem. Come this way and I’ll ring you up. That’ll be $2.76.”_

_“Great, thanks, Mark. Keep the change!”_

_“Thank you, young man. Come back and tell me how your lasagne went”_

_“See you later”_

As Tim left the store, paper bag in hand, he turned left and headed away from where Dick and Renee were parked. Renee turned on the engine and drove away, heading towards the park a few blocks away from where they would pick up Tim and debrief.

On the way back to the station, they went over the voice recording, and with the positive identification of Mark, they could ascertain that he was most likely the frontrunner for this whole scheme.

The bag was sent to forensics and the tech department, to see if the theory of GPS tracker was correct, and whilst they waited, Dick and Tim went out to get more coffee.

“Sooooo…”

Tim flinched at this many-layered word. Dick could be talking about anything, but more than likely, he was talking about his brother.

“What, Detective Grayson. Do you have a new theory on the case?” Tim tried to deflect the conversation, but either being obtuse or just annoying, Dick continued. “Not what I wanted to chat about, Timbo. A little birdie came flying home this morning with a big ol’ smile on his face, whistling.”

“You should really get a cat or something, Dick, seems like you have an infestation.”

“Ha ha ha, funny. Anyway, what happened that made Jaybird turn into a Disney princess?” Dick didn’t look at Tim, instead deciding on reading the board of specials, even though he knew them back to front. He still noticed the faint blush that overcame the young detective’s face.

“Just… an affirmation. Nothing more. Yes please, one grande dark roast, no milk triple shot espresso, and one tall café mocha.”

An affirmation? What a peculiar way to say that they finally confessed, but leave it to Drake to be evasive and informative all in one. Dick decided to not push any further, he had an idea of what was said and that was enough for now.

“Okay, lovely stuff. Hey my treat, ok? I need to get more points on my rewards card.”

Tim nodded and walked away with his black-like-his-soul coffee and headed back out towards the station. The coffee there was nice, as in it had caffeine, but it was a treat to get himself a professionally roasted and ground coffee that didn’t come from a bag that advertised the latest film release or something.

Back in the station, his fears were confirmed. There was a small GPS on the bottom of the bag in between the folds of the paper. At least this meant it would be easier for them to apply for a warrant to search the shop properly.

~

Jason’s shift at the library that day was set to be a rather quiet one, and if the weather was anything to go by, with the drizzling rain, then he was sure that he wouldn’t see another soul until 5 pm when he shut up shop.

This gave him time to analyse the recent data he had gotten from his ‘interviews’ – Falcone was up to something, something big, but he just wasn’t certain of any sort of time frame. Joe’s Fruit and Veg shop didn’t have any legal connections but there was something fishy going on with the Falcone gang and their latest shipment of ‘cabinets’.

He had to get to the docks this evening as they were expecting another load of marble countertops – and more than likely, more knives and guns. If only his thigh wasn’t wrapped up, he wouldn’t need to ask Dick for back-up. Oh, look at that, he forgot his phone back at his apartment, he’ll just have to go alone. What a shame.

~

The shipment led him to follow a dark van travelling at speed back into town. Jason needed to find out where their warehouse was and where they were stashing the knives and guns before they headed out to their ‘legitimate’ furniture shop (they were well-known launderers, just look at the number of bed shops there are in a town, how do three companies make enough money from selling just beds alone to maintain a rivalry?!)

Turning right, Jason had a sickening feeling where they were headed. The fruit shop had a large warehouse with its own greenhouse to promote buying locally. Plenty of room and bags of dirt to hide what looks like at least 2,000 knives of varying sizes and around 750 AR-15s.

Stopping at a safe enough distance, he headed up onto a nearby roof to gain a visual advantage. He saw the van unloading about twelve boxes onto trolleys to transport them inside. Taking this as his cue, he grappled across onto the warehouse’s roof and looked through one of the skylights. He was waiting for a key moment to happen; transaction of monies, and then all he would have to do is follow the people from the van back to where they come from and find their base of operations. Plain and simple, that was it.

Until he heard numerous footsteps and a hushed order from the back exit of the shop that led to the warehouse by a small pathway. Oh no. It was the GCPD, they had gotten their warrant sooner that Jason had anticipated and was searching the place right now. With hundreds of guns hiding behind the door. Well, great.

3

2

1

As soon as the entrance to the warehouse opened, the police officers were immediately overwhelmed with the number of armed gang members that were not expecting to be bothered.

The ensuing madness involved hurried orders on both sides and a barrage of bullets spraying through the air. Then Jason saw someone near the front line on the police’s side. His boyfriend, Detective Timothy Jackson Drake was preparing to take on 30 plus criminals with an entourage of only ten officers, most of whom were armed with one pistol and a baton. Okay one of them was his brother, but still. They were severely outnumbered.

And this was where Jason came in. He broke through the glass window and grappled quickly to the ground, gun out and aimed already at one gang member who was too close to Tim for his liking. Not that Tim couldn’t take him, but he was facing the wrong direction to see the oncoming attack.

Shooting once, aiming at the left shoulder, the perp was soon on the ground and Tim suddenly turned around to face Red Hood in all his glory. He stared at the tall broad man, who he hadn’t seen in action in months. It was truly a sight to behold, a masterpiece from the masters of art themselves, it was pure perfection wrapped up in a pistol. One could admire the precise way that the Red Hood plundered through the next group of gang members without as much as a ‘how do you do’. Well, one could admire if they weren’t supposed to also be taking down the remaining 17 soon-to-be-convicts intent on getting out of the situation.

The Red Hood seemed to be favouring his right leg to place all his weight on, but Tim didn’t think much further than that was part of the job. There was a tense moment when a gunshot flew straight towards Red Hood, but it seemed to only graze his upper arm and he brushed it off with no spectacle. Soon enough, his team working with Red Hood had gotten all 32 gang members cuffed up (some were zip tied as the officers only had two sets of handcuffs each). Tim walked over to a panting Red Hood who was finishing tying up one straggler. “Thank you, Hood. You didn’t have to help. Do you need a doctor to look at your arm?” He stuck out his hand in an offer of gratitude.

Hood seemed to pause in uncertainty (but who could ever be sure with that neutral mask on?) and brought up his right hand and shook Tim’s twice in a rather hard grip. The gloves he sported were thick and coarse.

“No problem, Detective. There would’ve been many more casualties, so I just did what I could.” The mechanical voice sounded… well, mechanic, with no emotion. This threw Tim off for a second but he quickly recovered. Never mind that his question on medical assistance was completely ignored.

“Still, my team and I appreciate your help. Now, I know I can’t ask for a statement, but if you don’t mind getting Batman to contact Jim or something. I don’t think we deserve all the credit,” Tim waved over generally motioning at his team, “and your actions should be acknowledged, internally if not publically.”

The Red Hood shrugged and grabbed his grapple, “Nah Tim, its fine don’t worry. I was just in the neighbourhood.” With that, he whizzed back up to the ceiling and made his way back to wherever he came from.

_Strange how he knew my name_ , Tim thought, but then he saw one of his team limping and grabbing at his knee and banished that thought away with a call to the station asking for medical assistance. Grayson and he needed to debrief the group and go about setting up cells for the criminals.

What a lovely night they had ahead of them.


End file.
